Thomas j



T. 1. WHITNEY.

Car Brake.

Patented May 19, 1868.

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WITNESSES.

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THOMAS J. WHITNEY, OF WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 78,166, dated May 19, 1868; antealated May 9, 1868.

IMPROVED GAR=BRAKE t'tlgt tlgehute nttmt in in flgcst Ztttttrt hated and mating port at flgtmm TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, Tnorms J. WHITNEY, of Whitpain township, 'in the county of Montgomery, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved Brake for Railroad-Oars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to-the letters of reference marked thereon. r i V The principle aimed at in my invention is to employ the sliding motion of the buder-bar and the rotation of one or more of the axles of a railway-car, in connection with such other mechanism as is hereinafter shown and described, for producing a brake or system of brakes, for a railway-train, entirely automatic or self-acting, and controlled by the speed or momentum of the cars, and not by the engineer or brak'sman, and which will operate on every car of the train, in proportion as the weight or moving-power of anytcar exceeds that of the drawingpower, ,or of the car immediately preceding. 7

On reference to the accompanying drawing, making part of this specification- Figure 1 is a side view, with the wheels on that side removed, to more efiectually show the mechanism of the brake, and i l D Figure 2 is also a side view, showing the car under the contrdl of the brake.

,Similar letters refer to similar parts in the two views. i I

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. a i

I have shown, in the annexed drawings, my improved self-acting or automatic brake applied to a single car, but, as the same contrivance is applied to each car throughout the entire train, a description of one car' will give an understanding of its general application. i

A is a buffer-rod, placed, as usual, against the bottom, B, of a railway-car. It is not rigidly fixed to it, but has a free longitudinal motion, and is suificiently checked by the guides a a to prevent'lateral displacement. It extends beyond both platforms of the car sufiici-ently to join with corresponding bars on other cars.

C is a bar, notched at b b, on its top and bottom edges, and placed contiguous to the side of the bufi'er-bar A.

D is a lever, vibrating in jaws fixed to the inner side of the brake-bar E. One end of itis connected with the brake-bar F by the rod G. The other end joins both ends of the rock-arm H, which vibrates on a stud fixed to the side of the hanger I, suspended from the bottom of the car through the medium of the rods 0 c. The upper extremity of said rock-arm is also joined to the contiguous end of the notched bar 0.

J is a clamp, embracing the axle K. The tightening-screw L and the spring M on one end of the clamp serve to adjust it to the axle, while the rod N, connecting its other end to the end of the notched bar, prevents it from, rotating with the axle. Its end or purpose is to keep the notched bar raised while the axle is running forward or over, (in the direction of the arrow,) so that, if. the bumper he suddenly driven in, the band 0 will instantly take into the upper notch 11; for the same reason, while the axle is running under, the clamp lowers the notched bar, for the band a to take into the lower notch b. The bando limits the elevation and depression of the notched bar-C. i p

d d are gum-blocks, on'the bufl'er rod A, either of which, by taking against the guide or strap a a, on its respective end of thebuffer-rod, relieves the car of any shock, caused by either suddenly starting or stopping,

As shown in the annexed drawing, the car is presumed to be one of a train, having a line of bufler-rods running from one end to the other of the train, all having a simultaneous lengthwise movement. t

In fig. 1, the car is supposed to be drawn by power applied to the buffer-rod, the gum-block d taking directly against the strap or guide a, the band 0 on the buffer-bar being in front of the notches 66f in the notched bar- C. Theaxlc K, to which the clamp Jis attached, is running forward or over, and, by means of the rod N, causes the clamp to keep the bar C raised to its limit. t v i The operation of my invention is as follows: Suppose a train of cars, coupled together at-the ends of their respective buffer-rods A, to be moving in the direction of the arrow, and it is desired to stop the train at a point sense some distance ahead. The engine is checked at the proper time, and this causes the train to move forward, in proportion to the momentum which each car ha'sacquired when the train was running at a high speed, thus throwing the rods A backwards, or driving them in through the entire line, and producing the following result: The band or strap 0 takes into the upper notch b in the bar 0, which drives the said notched bar in the same direction. The rock-arm H being pivoted to' the end of the bar 0, and connected to-the lever D, on the bral e.

bar E, by the rod 0, the motion of the bar C is thereby communicated to the brake-bar E, and by the rodG, from the other end of the lever D, to the brake-bar F, thereby bringing the brake-shoes, Q R, on the ends of the brake-bars, against the peripheries of their respective wheels, their inner surfaces having been previously curved-to conform to the same, thereby completely checking the rotation of the wheels, and stopping the car.

From the construction of the notched rod G, and the application of the clamp J to the axle, the notches b I) being on the top and bottom of the notched rod, it is immaterial which end of the car is coupled to the engine, or in which, direction the eerie moved, the operation of the brake will be the same. If movedin one direction the clamp raises the bar 0 that the hand 0 may take into the upper notch Z2, and if moved in a contrary direction it depresses it, that the band may take into the lower notch b.

The brakes areapplied with greater or less force, in proportion as the momentum of the train or any one car exceeds that of the engine or, of any one car, and by retarding the momentum of the engine or any one car, the brakes are applied to every car in the train, in-proportion as the weight or momentum of one car exceeds that of another. v p

Each car acts independently of the rest, and as themomeutum of a loaded car is greater than thatof an empty one, other things being equal, the loaded car will he braked ofi according to its momentum, and the empty one according to its momentum.

A rubber-block, S, is 'fitted to the bolt I, which connects the rods c c to the upper end of the lever D, hearing between its nutf'and the outside of the lever. It is to correct any inaccuracies in the working of the bufferrod, by overreaching, which would cause breakage in some of the details of the brake. The rubber-block or spring, from its elasticity, permits the bolt T to give to any undue pressure.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The buffer-bar A, rod ,0, band 0, rock-arm H, rods 0 c',lever D, bolt T, and the rubber-block or spring S, when constructed and combined as shown. v p

2. The notched rod 0 and the rod. N, in combination with a clamp fixed tothe axle K of a car, as shown.

3. The notchedrod O, in combination with the rock-arm H, rods 0 c, lever ID, rod G, and the brake-bars E and F, as shown and described.

In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto signed my name to this specification in presence of two subscribing witnesses. V

THOS. J. WHITNEY.

Witnesses;

W. W. Douennnrv, WM. R. GnEBLn. 

